The U.S. Supreme Court will consider on Nov. 13 whether to take up Nielsen’s antitrust appeal against Cumulus Media, a case that challenges a lower court ruling preventing Nielsen from requiring broadcasters to buy local radio ratings in order to access its full national ratings service. The justices could agree to hear the case, deny review, or delay a decision, with an announcement possible shortly after the conference.
The dispute stems from a July decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a preliminary injunction against Nielsen’s ratings sales policy. The injunction bars Nielsen from tying access to its nationwide ratings to the purchase of local ratings services and prohibits the company from charging commercially unreasonable prices for standalone national ratings.
Cumulus brought the challenge after seeking to purchase Nielsen’s national ratings for Westwood One while using competitor Eastlan for local market ratings. Nielsen argues the appeals court wrongly characterized its bundled pricing and warns the ruling could expose common multi-product discount practices across industries to antitrust scrutiny.
Nielsen’s appeal has drawn support from outside groups, including the Washington Legal Foundation and a coalition of antitrust scholars, who argue the Second Circuit’s decision could create broader uncertainty around bundled discounts and judicial oversight of pricing practices.
Meanwhile, a separate dispute over Nielsen’s compliance with the injunction remains active. A federal judge rejected Nielsen’s proposed standalone pricing for national ratings and threatened daily penalties unless revised pricing was offered. Nielsen has appealed that enforcement order, which is currently stayed by the Second Circuit while litigation continues. The original injunction remains in effect pending the Supreme Court’s decision on whether to review the case.